midi keyboards

[tiddles]

i'm going to buy one to work w/reason.
thinking about this one:
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
should be enough for my needs, i could probably get by with one of the 25 key models too.

any idears?

[neoee]

Go for the 49 key one. I've got the 25 key one and sometimes it can be a real pain since you have to shift your octive. I will eventually get the larger one myself but need to find time to get back into producing.

[dante_k]

I agree, definately go for the 49. I personaly have the Radium 49.

[jeffrey collins]

yeah i bought a 25 key oxygen 8 and now wish i had bought a 49 key. though it would ben nice to have some of those new controllers that they have out today.

[falcon2noah]

more keys=merrier.

[jeffrey collins]

more knobs the merrier.

[audiotherapy]

i used to have the radium 61, unless you are a keyboardist you dont need that many keys; 49 is good enough. i hope they fixed the sticky note problem in their new lines of controllers. new axiom series looks nice

[jeffrey collins]

i was just talking to one of my producer friends yesterday, and he highly reccommends the Korg MicroKorg that you see people like Trentemoeller using for their midi needs. It has all kinds of little things that most people don't really focus on. Like aftertouch for one. That, and it's got some bad ass sounds straight out of the box.

[Kalemic]

The Novation X series are awesome, *especially* for ableton.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

A lot of my friends have them, I hope to be picking one up in the future.

[jeffrey collins]

ok i have to revoke my thoughts on the microkorg. it is an awesome keyboard, but I think my friend gave me some info he wasn't 100% sure on.

[groffhibbitz]

I've heard good things about these:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[khilla]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

ma baby :)

[red1]

in all honesty i would try and buy an old jp8000 or something, thats what i use, u get all the midi control plus u get a killer of an extra hardware synth and for the money you would pay for a brand new midi controller you might be able to find one for around the same kind of money...the trouble with half those small midi controllers is that they are so "plastic and weak"

[Kinetic]

I´ve been down to the music store today and the guy was pretty cool and let me inside their studio. I tried out the M-Audio Axiom 25 and I was very impressed by the build quality, by the "touch" of the keys and the ammount of controllers you get, for the price.

Of course, I also tested one of the new Novation Remote SL 25, that one was even better but it´s too expensive. I´ll be going with the Axiom in less than 2 months

[badtz]

The Novation Remote SL series might suit you well too. The new SL series have small LED indicators that dynamically change depending on which software program you're in. No more sticky tapes!

[kerim]

there are two categories in m-audio's web site.

one is midi controllers :
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

the other one is audio interface keyborads:
[Only registered and activated users can see links] MAudioOzone-main.html

what are the technical difference between them?

[groffhibbitz]

my guess is the audio interface keybaords have a soundcard built in

[khilla]

my guess is the audio interface keybaords have a soundcard built in

indeed

[kerim]

so if we are working with computer, we don't need audio interface keyboards. midi controllers are enough?

[audiotherapy]

no, a professional grade sound card(midi/audio interface) is essential for working with soft synths or any other aspects of computer based production. you will need one thats capable of producing low latency (one that has a solid ASIO driver for PC). so that when you hit a key on your midi keyboard it will output the sound instantly.

i have a m-audio firewire 410, personally i perfer a external box so that i can plug in cables with out goin to the back of my PC. i use a hardware synth (Alesis Ion) to control soft synths.

[red1]

i have a m-audio firewire 410, personally i perfer a external box so that i can plug in cables with out goin to the back of my PC. i use a hardware synth (Alesis Ion) to control soft synths.
plus the fact that there is less interfierance from internal noise sources which helps when sampling

[Kinetic]

plus the fact that there is less interfierance from internal noise sources which helps when sampling

Or, if you?re skint, you can download this for free and get low latency with your internal soundcard : [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

I can go below 10ms with my shitty internal soundcard with these drivers!8)

[neoee]

Or, if you?re skint, you can download this for free and get low latency with your internal soundcard : [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

I can go below 10ms with my shitty internal soundcard with these drivers!8)

Very nice I will be grabbing this shortly. Thanks!

[groffhibbitz]

yea I was just about to mention that as well... asio4all is good stuff!

IMO, you can use this just fine with a midi controller that has no sound card built in and you will be fine. These days, you can buy a midi controller with a usb connection to your computer. I would highly recommend this as otherwise you will be spending time hooking up a separte midi interface to your computer (which you will have to buy) or trying to use midi via your computers joystick port which is a pain as well...

and really, you only need that external sound card if you are going to be hooking up a lot of things to your computer (ie, mixer, synth1, synth2, laptop, etc).

In the next few years (maybe next year) more and more gear will have built in USB audio, because it is pretty cheap and easy to do. For example, instead of buying that external audio interface to hook up your mixer to your computer, you will hook up your mixer directly to your computer via USB (the new Xone 3d already has this capability). The new synth you buy will send audio and midi to/from your computer (the access virus TI does this). There are even some decent studio monitors that will be coming out soon that I bet will have a USB port on them as well, so you don't even need to have that amp or 'receiver' anymore.

btw, for a good site for reviews of gear, and forums about gear, check out [Only registered and activated users can see links] it's got a lot of info and it's not too hard to find (I find sites like the futureproducers forums have a lot of info, but also a lot of repeated or useless info and it's way too difficult to sort through it to find what you want).

hope this helps!

[groffhibbitz]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Taylor Norris]

I am a proud owner of the M-Audio Axiom 25 key. More keys would be nice but I chose the 25 for its portabliity. I go most everywhere w/ my axiom and iBook so that when an idiea arises...i can got it down w/ reason. Besides, overdubbing within a loop isnt that big of a pain when your trying to lay down muliple octaves. I have no complaints and this unit is very versatile w/ pots, pads, and just about everything on the axiom being programable. I will definately be purchasing a larger controller when the funds are available, I just really like the portability. Great price too. If only it had a thru midi port........

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

M-Audio Axiom 25 25-Key USB MIDI Controller Features:

25-keys
Velocity-sensitive semi-weighted keyboard with assignable aftertouch
Backlit LCD screen
8 MIDI-assignable trigger pads
8 MIDI-assignable rotary encoder knobs
6 transport buttons reassignable to other MIDI parameters
Assignable pitch bend and modulation wheels
Sustain and expression pedal jacks
USB port and MIDI I/O
USB bus or AC powered
Class-compliant with Windows XP and Mac OS X
20 non-volatile memory locations
Comes with Enigma librarian/editor software and Ableton Live Lite 4 music production software

[NewSc2]

no, a professional grade sound card(midi/audio interface) is essential for working with soft synths or any other aspects of computer based production. you will need one thats capable of producing low latency (one that has a solid ASIO driver for PC). so that when you hit a key on your midi keyboard it will output the sound instantly.

i have a m-audio firewire 410, personally i perfer a external box so that i can plug in cables with out goin to the back of my PC. i use a hardware synth (Alesis Ion) to control soft synths.


ahahahahhahaha.. i love your avatar! took me 2 seconds to get it.

*what's that gold doo-rag doing on the owl... ... ohH.. ahahahahahha*

[Revinant]

[/URL][URL="[Only registered and activated users can see links]"][Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Novation REmote 25 SL. my next toy.

[Taylor Norris]

I wish I could have shelled out the $ for the Novation. It was over twice what I paid for the Axiom. Nice choice though....